"But, let's go to Chiori Tailor Shop first~. Speaking of which, I haven't let Sister Chiori try strawberries yet, nor have I had a glass of strawberry juice." Alex had just thought of strawberries, and then remembered Chiori from before.
He suddenly realized that he had forgotten to invite them to eat strawberries.
It was a shame Charlotte had left. Now everyone was mistakenly spreading that strawberries were researched by Hydro Archon Furina.
Otherwise, if she knew strawberries were grown by Alex, he would be surrounded by crowds the very next day.
He would give Charlotte more strawberries later, but for now, he would let Chiori try them.
"As you wish." Clorinde said, following Alex eastward.
The strawberries in his backpack were all washed, and items in the backpack were in a time-stasis state.
Whatever state they were put in, they would be taken out in that same state—a common function of backpack space systems.
Bringing Clorinde to Chiori Tailor Shop, Alex saw that there were many female customers there, sitting around a table chatting about gossip.
When Alex entered, they didn't react much, but as soon as Clorinde came in, their voices instantly became very, very soft, like whispering.
"Wow, I didn't expect Champion Duelist Clorinde to come here to shop for clothes." The first woman whispered softly.
"She's still following the owner who just sold lemonade." The second woman followed with a murmur.
"Woah, could it be that they're involved?" The third woman's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Don't talk nonsense, I know him! He's the one who used a megaphone to confess to Hydro Archon Furina a while ago." The fourth woman said softly.
"What!" Three faces exclaimed in hushed surprise.
Alex's ears weren't particularly sensitive now, not that amazing. He only heard a buzzing sound, plus he automatically filtered out irrelevant conversations.
Who would bother to listen carefully to every conversation around them?
But Clorinde was different. Not only was her level high, but her five senses were also keen. Even such soft whispers clearly entered her ears.
Her gaze swept over them sharply, and each one fell silent, clamping their mouths shut.
Chiori, hearing the movement outside the door, walked out and said, "Welcome to 'Chiori Tailor Shop,' how may I help you?"
Then, seeing that it was Alex and Clorinde, not new customers, her already not-so-enthusiastic greeting instantly became completely unenthusiastic: "Ah, it's you two? What brings you here?"
Alex scratched his head with a smile: "Hehe, since no one was coming to buy from me, I packed up my stall too. I just dropped by to see Sister Chiori."
"Oh, well, now that you've seen her, you can leave." Chiori waved her hand, as if ushering them out.
"Wait, I have something good to give you." Alex said, pulling out a packaged strawberry gift bag: "These are strawberries~"
Then he took out another one from his backpack, and in a few seconds, it was a glass of strawberry juice.
"Strawberries are delicious, and everyone raves about them as juice." Alex said, finally looking at Clorinde.
The room was full of different women's perfume scents, and he couldn't quite stand it.
"Well, we're off then. I wish you prosperous business, goodbye." With that, Alex quickly shuffled his feet and made a swift exit.
"Okay, your drinks will also sell well. I might even come to your side tomorrow." Chiori nodded, simply informing Alex.
"Alright…" Alex said, then suddenly had an idea and, enduring the room full of perfume, walked back.
"How about a collaboration???" Alex looked at Chiori, speaking earnestly… Chiori suddenly became interested: "Oh? Tell me more."
"Buzz buzz~" Baron Bunny once again galloped through the territory of Fontaine.
This time, it directly used the eastern teleport waypoint in the Beryl Region.
He took Clorinde around twice, but no events were triggered. He also didn't find the Ley Line Outcrops he wanted.
So, Alex and Clorinde reappeared in the Beryl Region, and after three more laps, still found no Ley Line Outcrops.
"Oh no!" Alex suddenly stopped the vehicle. During this time, he had run over or crushed many Hilichurls and other wild monsters.
His summoned creature slots were full. He had also briefly discussed it with Clorinde earlier.
Whopperflowers staying by his side for combat wouldn't get enough nutrition.
It would be best to put them directly in the fields so they could absorb nutrients, and also help guard the house with the other guards.
Alex didn't care about that now. The most important thing was reaching Level 40.
Unlocking the summoned creature space and the first constellation to increase the number of summoned creatures would be enough.
No choice, he was unlucky today; he didn't see either type of Ley Line Outcrops.
"Let's go check the area near the Opera House." Alex said, driving straight from the northern part of the Beryl Region towards the Opera House.
Perfect, during this time, he would expand his phone map. Otherwise, all those black blocks would bother his OCD.
As they sped across the sea, Clorinde noticed that Alex wasn't heading straight anymore. Instead, he was approaching the Opera House in a spiral pattern over the water.
Clorinde didn't care anyway. Sitting on this Baron Bunny was quite comfortable. As the speed increased, the gentle wind blowing on her body also felt very pleasant.
It's just that at this speed, the wind shouldn't be as gentle as it is now.
Clorinde looked at the slightly flowing blue energy shield around Baron Bunny. Most of the airflow must have been separated by this protective shield.
Maintaining a steady speed of over 400 on the sea, they suddenly slowed down to a normal 200 upon reaching the land below the Opera House.
"Where is this? Why does it seem foggy around here in broad daylight?" Alex asked Clorinde along the way.
After all, Version 4.0 only opened a small part of the Opera House map. Now it was like completely new exploration; everything had to be figured out on his own.
"This is the Weeping Willow of the Lake." Clorinde glanced around and immediately identified the location.
Continuing forward, in the distance, the most striking sight was a phantom, light-blue giant tree floating in the void ahead, which was quite beautiful.
He couldn't help but stop there to look at it.
Below the phantom tree was a ruin-like mechanism.
Seeing what looked like writing on it, Alex couldn't help but turn to Clorinde and ask, "What does it say up there?"
"Hmm…" Clorinde observed carefully: "Well, many of the inscriptions here are illegible. Only a few words, 'Clear Dew,' 'Three,' are somewhat clear."
"Ah, I see, another puzzle. Why don't you people of Fontaine deal with this?" Alex couldn't help but rub his forehead. Puzzles were really too difficult.
Coming here, with no one to guide him, no hints.
Clorinde, however, looked puzzled and asked Alex in return: "What puzzle? Where is there a puzzle? It's always been like this here. For a very long time, many years."
"Good heavens."
Clorinde and the people of Fontaine didn't seem that smart either. It seemed the invincible Traveler was needed. Alex himself wouldn't know how.
Alex was about to summon Baron Bunny again and embark on his journey to find Ley Line Outcrops.
He suddenly noticed a patch of purple mist on the ground not far ahead, as if it had been polluted.
In the middle of the mist were two large purple stones. A small stone revolved around one of the large stones.
There were also three mechanisms around it that looked like they could be triggered.
Alex was speechless. Was this puzzle that simple? I can do it too!
How could so many people in Fontaine have been stuck for so many years?
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Greyhounds
If you want to see it, then why not?